Mike M

2022 is in the books and it was one of the busiest years I have had gig-wise (performing and sound tech'ing)....better than pre-Covid.  It was kinda like music/performances were "pent-up" and people let loose.

2023 looks to be decent as things are coming in & my schedule is shaping up.

I hope to God that this "covid-thing" has run its course. 

Stay safe.

On 11/3/2022 at 9:22 AM, Notes_Norton said:

All you need to do is make the right face and display the right body language and some will think you are a genius.

^^^Is true!
I am a volunteer at a local performing arts center. (I volunteer as the A2 working with the sound system.  I have even tech'd shows as the A1 at that venue.)

There are a quite a few singer/songwriters that come through on-tour as the venue has two/three shows per week....alot of guitarists....

Most of the acts are really good (very few tribute band - thank god) musicians.  A couple of weeks Vanilla Fudge performed there - they kicked a** - excellent musicians.

To point:

I am sorry to say but I am not impressed with most of the guitarists that I've seen there (except for Marty Stewart...he has some serious chops).

Alot of the so-so guitarists just riff-away (lean back/closing their eyes/with a grimace on their face) and the patrons eat-it-up.  Me-oh humm...looking at watch waiting for it to end.

Good showmanship is like a good salesman...  They entertain (which is also an art).

I suggest that you don't kill yourself learning a ton of Xmass songs, maybe 4(?) would probably be good.

A sing-a-long medley; Let it Snow, Rudolf, Rockin Around the Xmass Tree,etc. can be alot of fun especially with a drinking crowd.....

The Holidays stirs feelings of family etc, thus maybe your ballads (slow songs) could be: Have Yourself a Merry Little Xmass, Merry Christmas Darling (Carpenters), or the like.

People (or a venue) hired your band because they like what you do - don't change your whole format at an Xmass party - play the gig with a few Jollies thrown in.

The above is just my opinion.

Have fun!

I have a ton of wedding-gig experience (both playing and contracting).  I had a band that gigged weddings for many years but I switched to classical music 20+ years ago.

First of all: Do not undersell yourself.  In my area DJ's are getting $1200 (for the cheapest ones) and up for a wedding (some regularly get 2-3k).  That being said, a band that charges $2k for a wedding in my area will-not-work - believe it or not.  A band has to charge more-than-a-DJ to be taken seriously....."that's" just the way couples think...  

#2: be polished; sound good, dress well, & have a PA that's "corporate-clean" (not beat-up, club worn, dented grills, etc.)

#3: you will need a sound-guy to help you set up / break down quickly plus provide a playlist while the band goes on breaks (to keep the party going).

My current wedding gig is in a classical trio that plays ceremony/cocktail hour exclusively.  This year we have over 40 weddings......

I have seen more wedding bands this year than I have seen in the past several years...so live bands seem to be coming back (yay!).

KJ: Do you still use the E168's?

If so, do you use the Yorkville processor?

FWIW: When the pandemic hit around here (Massachusetts, USA) I contacted the local school district's head nurse and asked her advise on how to sterilize foam windscreens.  Her advise: wash with hot water / anti-bacterial soap, & air dry.

I purchased a dozen windscreens, did the above, & wrapped them in plastic sandwich bags.

On sound-provider gigs I let each vocalist pick their own.

Has anyone else upgraded their rig since their original post?

After the Covid shutdown, musician gigging (for me) started up again last June and has been pretty consistent since then.

Sound-gig wise was a bit spotty; one HS graduation and one 5K (in attendance) sound gig in 2021.

2022 looks to be better with a few more sound gigs scheduled......plus quite-a-few muso gigs in the books.

Let's hope that we are done with this Covid thing....

Good health to all!

Christmas Pops concert series on Cape Cod.

The orchestra members had to to be vax'd and we took a rapid test before our first rehearsal (on Wednesday).

The audience had to show proof of vaccination to enter.

6 performances, 4 of which were sold out.

It felt good to be back...!

Notes:

Part of the scene is dealing with Bridezillas ('had more than my share of 'em) but even worse is the "Mom-zilla" (mother of the bride) who essentially takes-over the daughter's wedding since she (Momzilla) is paying the bills.

This happen alot with Newport weddings...... 

The brides are essentially told to "show up" ........ 

Besides the $ the only thing that makes these gigs somewhat enjoyable is that the others in my ensemble are excellent musicians and nice people.....

13 hours ago, Notes_Norton said:

When I turned 40 I targeted the Senior Citizen population in South Florida and never looked back. Yacht clubs, country clubs, retirement developments and so on.

When I was younger, the old timers told me that once I got out of the bars and into the adult market, I'd wonder why I didn't do that sooner. They were right.

Pros:

• The gigs are short, usually 3 hours.
• They finish early, usually by 10 or 11PM.
• There are no fights
• There is no pressure to sell drinks.
• There is always an audience (no Thursdays playing to the tables and chairs).
• When you learn a song, unlike Top40, it's good for years because it's already an oldie.
• You get to play a variety of music styles
• Two gigs a week pays as much as 5 nights in a bar.
• At the end of the night, they thank you for giving them a wonderful evening.

Cons:

• It's mostly one-nighters, so you have to move gear every gig.
• If you are single, there are no young babes to hit on, (but if you like them mature, you are in luck).

Fortunately I'm in a duo with my wife who is a great singer and plays both guitar and synth so the lack of young babes (above) is not a problem. I go home with the same beauty every night and wouldn't want it any other way.

In South Florida, it's Seasonal. From Halloween to Tax day. You work very hard in 6 months and make at least 3/4 of your yearly income then.

Insights and incites by Notes

A similar path for me........

When I turned 35 (leading my own GB band) I saw the writing-on-the-wall that I was aging-out of what I did (sax player in a wedding/club band, occasional pro-shows).

[What 25y/o bride wants a grey-haired sax player in her wedding band?  Ans: none of them do....]

  At that point I went back to my classical roots (classical muso in college), started a trio ensemble, auditioned successfully for a local orchestra (which 10 years ago went AFM), and have since concentrated my playing on the ceremony/'tails circuit around Newport, RI. 

At 60+ it seems that getting older is good for booking my ensemble as the young brides think that they are talking to Mozart or something - lol.

My ensemble gigs are usually two hours; a usual 4-6: (4-4:30 prelude, 4:30-5 ceremony, 15 minute break, 5:15-6 'tails, 6:10 driving home....).  Nobody busts our chops with requests, we just play our baroque, look (and sound) polished, rinse/repeat.  Creativity-wise it's rather sterile but the $ is great - although I miss my sax at times.....  Every once in a while I'll go to a jam and make some noise just to stay in the game...

Wow.....hacking into a mixer......I guess if "stupid" can happen, someone will oblige.

What's next?  Someone hacking my sax reeds.....? (a lame attempt at humor).

As of this writing there may be hope.  As a reference I live/gig on the border of MA/RI.

Indoor music in RI is slowly coming back as some local bands are playing.

MA is allowing music in restaurants but no wind instruments/singing:(

I am not sure of the audiences / attendance as we are staying clear until my wife/I are vaccinated (wife got #2 last week, I'm getting #2 on Friday).

A bright note: my classical trio recently booked six (6!!!) RI wedding ceremony/cocktail hour gigs in May.  We had nothing confirmed in the book a couple of months ago but MA/RI are easing the restrictions for weddings.....

For the past several years I limited our wedding work to six gigs per month (totally sick of dealing with brides) but we'll take as many as we can get at this time as we've been suffering from gig-withdrawl lol.  (lately it's been a "feeding frenzy" as brides are booking last-minute weddings and scrambling for music.)

...a gig is a gig 

Facebook seems to be considered "mainstream" these days as almost everyone is on it.

Coverbandcentral is a bit amusing..

Revisiting this (rather long) thread:

I live one hour south of Boston in which there are several music schools; Berklee College of Music, New England Conservatory, Boston Conservatory).  These schools are producing some great musicians.  At any given time there are 1,000 bands in the Boston area, most of which are trying to find a niche.

I totally support someone's "vision" as to what they are trying to create (gotta give them credit for trying), however, some visions are a bit far-fetched but why not(?) I say.

Back in the late 80's/early 90's I was playing in the horn section of a local blues/reggae/ska band.  At one point we had a sax player from Boston play with us.  I remember sitting with him during breaks discussing harmony / patterns, etc.  He had chops.

He told me that he was in an experimental trio that plays a grunge/blues/funk merge using a two-string slide bass, baritone sax, and drummer.......  A couple of months later he disappeared (stopped playing with us).

Two years later I am watching Conan O'Brien one night and the featured band was a band from Boston: Morphine  There's Dana (the sax player!) playing with-that-experimental-trio on Conan O'Brien!!!!

Morphine went on to play the Rome/London/NYC/LA circuit for a few years until the bass player / singer OD'ed on a gig...

Creativity starts with a vision....  What some may have thought as a silly concept worked for them.

The caveat for that band was that the drummer/sax player were excellent musicians, the bass player / lead singer made a niche for himself.

These days the majority of my gigs are with my classical trio playing wedding ceremony/'tails gigs in Newport, RI.

In January we played wedding #945 for us..... 

As the contractor for the group, you can imagine, I am getting sick of dealing with BRIDES.

When I retire my ensemble, I will start a band again.

I've already got a band name:  "Half-dead Bride"

How about: Funky White Honkies

The band has been around 1981.... and I joined them in 1987.

The band still gigs....we played last month.

When this site went through a format change I started visiting other forums.

As of late, I have been 'swinging through" a few times per week.

Mike M.

"mentally extending into the arts" is true....

My wife watches those singing shows (Voice, etc.) all the time and when the show does interviews with some of the contestants and they say "for me, as an artist....".  Hmmmm, in most cases the person being interviewed is  just a singer, period; singing someone else's song with a band/or backing track.   Adding a few groans, changing a couple of notes, closing the eyes (as if in pain) while singing a longer note - does not make him/her an artist (at least a musical artist).  There is another kind of artist that comes to mind..........

wow - I'm on a roll today!!!

As a performer/music teacher (retired public school/currently at the local university) I have seen many delusional views of talent....both by performer(?) and parents/family of which.

It seems that many local singers/players are only marginally talented at best.  Just because someone can comp a basic 3 (or 4 if your lucky) chord progression on Guitar (in E or A usually) and sing an octave semi-in tune they consider themselves to be artists/musicians....nothing can be further than the truth.

When I am not gigging I go out in my area to support the local music scene (coffee shops, etc.) but I am usually disappointed by the talent (or lack there of) of the performers.  Most of them are truly "into" what they do and believe that their efforts are music voodoo....

Yes, "you gotta start somewhere" but what I hear is "minimal talent" performances most of the time.  

Musicians in my area are always commenting that the bar-gig scene doesn't pay nearly as well as it did back in the day (80's)...  It's because bars (in my area) are bombarded with so-called single musicians that come loaded with tracks, etc. (technology is inexpensive these days...thus anyone can afford it) and will play for free/cheap...   Many of which think that they are truly talented but the truth is: if you remove their friends/family from the audience you will see who is really there to see the "talent".

Some people are delusional as they think that they are musicians.

(pardon my pre-coffee morning rant)

My son (a drummer) played for several years (throughout high school and early college) with a "Clown Band".....yes, a band that wore clown outfits...  When my son was playing with them I asked the founder of the group (who was 84 at the time...6 years ago...) how the band started.

He told me that a fellow drummer approached him in 1975 saying that he had an idea to start a clown band...  "I told him that he was cuckoo" when he asked me that....but I went along with the idea as he needed a partner.

They recruited area public school music teachers (that still played their instruments) and put together a childrens' stage show of about 20 minutes in length (music, juggling, jokes, skits...rather entertaining/fast paced).

They performed everywhere; daily, at regional fairs, festivals, (sometimes 5 sets per day at 7 day festivals).  They were popular.

In about 2000 the band started to play primarily in parades.  My son (as a high school kid) was getting $70.00 per one-hour parade when he joined.   They were doing about 35 performances a year at that point.  It was an excellent job for a high school kid: excellent $ for playing drums...

The one surviving leader of the band retired the group 4 years ago......

What started out as  a crazy idea worked out...  you never know.....

1 comment

• [img2=JSON]{"alt":"Voltan","data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"http:\/\/www.harmonycentral.com\/forum\/core\/image.php?userid=92103&thumb=1&dateline=1393485305"}[/img2]
  #11.1
   
  Voltan commented
  12-17-2017, 01:45 PM
   
   
  how/what do you set for a string quartet?
   
  Cello: assuming that the string quartet is of standard instrumentation: Vi/Vi/Va/C I place mics as follows:
  Violins: One sm57 or Sennheiser 835 mic on a tripod/boom stand. Extend the boom over the payers left shoulder and aim the mic towards the G/D string side F hole two feet above the instrument
  Viola: Same position which will put the mic above the C/G string side F hole
  Cello: Tripod/boom mic stand with the above mics, mic the cello from under the music stand aiming the mic towards the bass side (C/G) F hole.
   
  Roll-off the the highs to about 10:30 on each channel's EQ.
   
  The above is a good place to start.
  

upon occasion, the need for being mic'd is becoming an unfortunate necessity. rather than be at the mercy of a production crew that may or may not fully grasp the nature of the beast, what are my options in mics that are capable of capturing the nuance and air of these instruments in a live setting? one challenge is that recently ive been in improv situations with numerous musicians on everything from harmonica, didgeridoos, guitar, djembes and various percussionists... completely outside my comfort zone, yet proving to be insanely provocative and productive in breaking imaginary boundaries.

i stumbled upon a recording mic that works wonderfully well, in solo situations... a zoom q8 with a stereo shotgun mic, it captures the highs of the surface work, timbre etc, and the stereo mic seems to pic up the resonance and surrounding air... im happy with what that system captures ( to my tired ears ) so i know its possible... so, akg c214's? ribbon mics? kinda sorta looking at this thing like mic'ing up the air around a string quartet. much appreciated...

You question is interesting. First off, my experience mic'ing multi percussion instruments has been in theater (pit band) scenarios. The percussion instruments are in a fixed position and stay consistent for the run of the show. Usually three/four mics (sm57's) are used and are placed around the percussion area with one of the mics placed at "head height" adjacent to the percussionist that all of the "air percussion" ie; slide whistle, bird whistle, etc.

Your situation in an "improv setting" does bring up a different challenge however with all "improv" scenarios in the true sense there is some "artistic license" for latitude.

I have found it very easy to over-think mic choices as an improperly placed 'high-end" (expensive) mic will not get the job done...

I have another show/musical coming up in early February where the band/orchestra may be on-stage. If the accompanying group is indeed "on stage" I plan on mic'ing the percussionist(s) as I normally do but will also try suspending one or two Shure MX202B/C choral/condenser mics above the percussion area and toggle back and forth between both mic schemes to see what works best.

My mic'ing technique for a string quartet is different.

about me: 48, professional woodwind player / music teacher in my local school district. I still perform most weekends and have added live sound production to break the monotony. the rig that i use most often:
FOH:
4 yorkville e152B's (bi-amped)
2 yorkville tx9s subs
the above run as a 3 way system with a yorkville e152 processor
Monitors:
4 pairs of bose 402's with bose eq
Amps:
2 crown itech 6000's
2 crown xs4300's (four channel amps)
Mixer:
A&H Mixwiz 16 w/ effects
Gear:
2 DBX 2231 EQ's
sm58's, etc
audix D6
100' 16x4 snake
stands, wires, etc
I use this system for our town's local "concert on the beach series" during the summer months. I also use the system for a few indoor events and use 2 bose 502BP's instead of the tx9 subs. For most gigs I can fit everything in my ford expedition (with a platform attached to the trailor hitch) but for the outdoor gigs I need to make two trips to the venue or I rent a van and add the rental price to my fee. My rig works well for a one-man operation and does an adequate job at the beach too! The yorkville e152p crossover makes routing things a snap and the crown amps have been rock solid while not drawing much from the wall.
I have done a couple of large (7,000+ spectators) outdoor events. In those instances, I subcontract a local provider to supplement my gear.
Best, Mike M